Nightmare
by HarvestBeauty
Summary: Terri has a disturbing dream about Larry, leading her to check on his well-being. Slightly dark. Rated T for violence.


"Janet, it's my turn!" Jack whined.

"It is not, you took the TV last Saturday! I have a TV show that I want to watch tonight! Can't you go watch the game upstairs at Larry's?" Janet shot back.

Terri shook her head, smiling as she came out of the bedroom to find her two roommates bickering on the couch. She hoped they'd leave her out of it.

"Terri?" Janet asked her with that certain pleading tone in her voice.

Terri cringed. No such luck.

"Yes?" Terri asked her, knowing where this was headed.

"Oh, no!" Jack interjected. "You want Terri to be the tiebreaker. No way. I know she's going to side with you...something about 'girl code'." Jack rolled his eyes, using airquotes. "We're just going to have to flip a coin for it."

"Alright, fine!" Janet huffed. "Terri, do you have any change on you?"

"Um, yes, I think so..." Terri had started to cross the living room area, making a beeline over to where her purse lay by the phone.

Suddenly, a deafening shot rang out. It was so loud, it sounded like a cannon and shook the walls and caused the door to rattle. Terri dropped to her knees, shaking violently. Jack and Janet jumped up from the couch in alarm, both at the unexpected sound and in reaction to their fallen roommate.

"Terri!" Janet cried, rushing over to her. She knelt down and gripped Terri's shaking arms with her hands tightly. "Terri, are you...?"

"I-I'm fine. What the heck was that?" Terri stammered in shock. Her ears were ringing due to the loudness of the noise. She, Janet and Jack all looked at each other with fear in their eyes. Terri began crawling over to the front door, still too frightened to stand.

"Terri!" Janet hissed. "What are you doing?!"

Terri put the chain lock on the door and ever so slowly and carefully cracked open the door just a sliver. The sensations overwhelming her were frightening. She could smell gunpowder in the air. Worse yet, a voice started yelling, no, screaming in agony. It was a male voice, coming from somewhere close by but not on their floor. Terri couldn't tell where exactly it was coming from, but it kind of sounded like it was coming from upstairs.

Tingles went up her spine. The voice had taken on an eeire tone...wailing, sobbing and begging for help. Asking "why" over and over again. It was blood curdling. These weren't the cries of surprise or even of fear, but of someone who was extremely hurt. Terri heard screams like this before, such as from car accident victims before they were sedated. As Terri listened to the guy, she was hit with a horrible and disgusting realization that made her stomach drop and her blood run cold.

This wasn't just any guy crying in pain. This was Larry.

His voice was distorted with fear and with pain, and she'd never heard him scream like this before. He sounded like a wounded animal and she barely recognized him at first, but suddenly it just clicked.

"You guys..." Terri covered her mouth with a shaky hand, her face growing ashen. Her eyes teared over in horror and she felt like throwing up. "I think Larry has been shot!"

"_Terri_!" Janet gasped, horrified. "That's a terrible thing to say!"

"Yeah, Terri..." Jack added, frowning. "That's not funny."

"I'm not trying to be funny, Jack, I'm trying to tell you what I'm hearing!" Terri snapped. "Call 911!"

"Honestly, Terri...he's probably fine." Janet insisted, causing Jack to nod in agreement with her.

"I'm telling you, I know what I'm hearing! What's the _matter _with you two?!" Terri asked, her voice rising as panic threatened to erupt from her. She had heard of denial before, but this was ridiculous. Why were they acting so weird?

The three roommates looked at one another. No one said anything.

"Call him..." Terri said in a shaky voice, before repeating in a stronger tone. "Call him right now."

Jack walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver. He dialed Larry's number and held the receiver up to his ear. Terri's ears perked up as she very, very faintly heard the sound of Larry's apartment phone ringing over and over again.

"He's not answering..." Jack whispered to his friends.

Larry's phone continued ringing. It was driving Terri crazy. She just knew in her gut it was Larry who had been hurt, as much as she wanted to be in denial right along with Jack and Janet. She turned her attention back to peering outside and trying to hear what was going on out there. The voice, no, Larry's voice had dropped considerably in energy. Instead of howling in pain, he was now just softly, mournfully moaning and groaning. He was fading fast, sounding as if he was losing the battle to stay conscious and alive. Terri stood up on wobbly, shaky legs...she knew she'd have to act right now if they had any chance of saving him.

"I'm-I'm going up there. Jack, you hang up and call an ambulance." Terri steeled herself and her resolve.

"Terri, there could be a maniac with a gun still out there!" Janet cried, her dark eyes huge and frightened.

"Janet, if I don't go up there and help right now, Larry could..." Terri cut herself off. She didn't even want to finish that awful sentence. She felt as though a giant rock had settled in the pit of her stomach. She gasped when she realized that Larry had gone silent. She hoped she wasn't too late.

"Terri..." Janet shook her head, wanting to argue with her friend. "It's not Larry who's been hurt..."

Terri knew better, unfortunately. Ignoring her, she unlocked the chain lock on the door and dashed outside of the apartment. She felt strangely lightheaded, as if she was floating instead of running. As she made for the stairs, she noticed the foyer was a chaotic scene and was filled with people milling about. Where had all these people come from? As she started up the stairs leading up to the third floor, she was stopped halfway up by a police officer. Beyond the officer was a crowd of people standing outside someone's apartment door.

It was apartment 304, just as Terri dreaded. Her fears were confirmed.

"Please let me through!" Terri pleaded. "I'm a nurse and I can help! The person who's been shot is a friend of mine and-"

"I'm afraid you're too late, Miss." The officer informed her sadly. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Terri's heart sank and her voice grew hoarse. Her mind refused to believe what she had just heard. She stared past the officer and tried to take in as much of the scene as she could handle. Some people in the crowd had moved aside and she could see Larry laying on the ground with his back to her. She noticed an obscene amount of blood splattered on his door and matted in his dark hair. She was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Please let me through..." Terri tried again, weakly and pathetically.

"There's no chance, Miss. No hope at all. The assailant shot him at point blank range with a large caliber handgun. He used hollow point bullets and shot him directly through the heart. Pretty much made his heart explode on contact. He died in less than a minute. The neighbors are thinking it was someone he knew because he answered the door to whoever it was..."

The police officer droned on and on but it was all superfluous, because Terri's brain shut off at the word "died". Hearing how Larry's heart had pretty much been obliterated had made hers shatter as well. The dizziness she had been feeling earlier was now crashing over her in overwhelming waves and she could withstand it no longer. She dropped to her knees for the second time that day and screamed.

Terri's scream turned into a pitiful squeak as she shot up into a sitting position in bed, clutching a hand to her heart. She panted for breath, her eyes scanning the dark bedroom frantically as she tried to get her bearings. The dream had been so frightening and so vivid, that it took her brain a while to realize that it was not real.

"Oh, my God..." Terri whispered harshly to herself, her hushed voice sounding oddly loud in the quiet bedroom. She was shaking from head to toe. "That was so horrible!"

She glanced over to Janet's bed and saw that her roommate was, thankfully, sleeping like a baby. She was glad she hadn't woken her up with her nightmare like a little child. Terri was embarrassed. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a nightmare that had rattled her so badly. She prayed that Janet and Jack wouldn't wake up and see her as the sweaty, panicked mess that she was right now. She was afraid if either one of them tried to comfort her, she'd start bawling. Terri tried to take a few deep, calming breaths but they were useless. There was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep unless...

_I have to see if he's okay..._

Terri wanted to talk herself out of it. On some level, she knew that Larry was obviously alright and that it was just a horrible nightmare she had just had. She really didn't want to bother him this late at night, but still...it was just eating away at her. She would not have peace of mind until she saw him face to face. Carefully, Terri got up out of bed and tiptoed out of the bedroom, softly closing the door behind her. She then padded across the apartment and slipped on some shoes, not even bothering to throw on a jacket. She grabbed her purse because she remembered that her apartment key was in there, but that was all she thought about grabbing. She silently slipped out of the apartment, quietly shutting the door behind her. She then started to ascend the stairs as she walked up to the third floor, her wispy nightgown billowing behind her like a cape. She vaguely thought back to how similar this scene felt to her dream.

Terri was reprimanding herself the entire way up. Of _course _he was alive. This was stupid and embarrassing, she should just go back to her apartment and wait until tomorrow to see for herself. But for some reason, the greater part of her would not listen to that logic.

She had mixed feelings when it came to Larry, and they confused the hell out of her. He had made it difficult for her to move in, first by playing mean pranks on her along with Jack and then by tricking her into flirting with Jack during her first night here. It had caused her to keep her guard up with him and made her feel as if she was unable to trust him. Even after he apologized and made it very clear that he liked her, she still couldn't help but hold the tiniest bit of a grudge over their rough introduction to each other. The way he went through women was a huge red flag as well...he was a player, a womanizer. Bad news.

But there was, of course, a flip side. He had attempted to take her out on a date and it was a disaster because he had brought Jack along for moral support...apparently he was too nervous and tongue tied to be alone with her. Terri had been irritated at first because she thought he was playing another trick on her, but the more she thought about it, the more flattered she felt about the fact that she had that kind of effect on a guy like Larry. He was never nervous or shy around women, but he was around her...it made her feel kind of special in a strange way. He was charming, warm, friendly and not bad looking either. He could be oddly adorable and wickedly funny at once, and he kind of reminded her of Jack's edgier, wilder side. He could really light up a room. She could see why the two of them were best friends. He was always in a good mood...well, almost.

Over the past few months, she had gotten shocking and intriguing glimpses into more private, serious and vulnerable sides to Larry that he mostly kept hidden from everyone. Over time, Terri had felt more comfortable around him and had let her guard down quite a bit. She had grown quite fond of the used car salesman and had come to see him as a true friend, not just as a nuisance or a pain in the neck. Had anyone told her how much she would grow to care about Larry when they first met, Terri would have told them they were crazy...and yet, here she was running up to his apartment at two in the morning in order to check up on him. That nightmare had really highlighted just how much she cared about him and didn't want any harm to come to him, just as she'd never want anything bad to happen to Jack or Janet.

Terri found herself pausing in front of Larry's door. She stared at it, still wondering if she should just turn around and go back downstairs and go to bed. Once she knocked, there was no turning back. Taking a deep breath, Terri rapped softly on his door. When there was no answer, her heart picked up its pace a little bit and she willed herself to knock a little louder. After a few seconds, she was outright pounding on his door.

"Alright, alright...I'm coming!" She heard Larry grumble from somewhere inside of his apartment, speaking in a thick East Coast accent the way he did whenever he got a little bit annoyed. Terri was so glad to hear it.

Moments later, the apartment door swung open to reveal a blurry eyed, messy haired and very confused looking Larry standing there. Despite his irritation at being woken up in the middle of the night, his face instantly lit up when he saw her.

"Terri! What a pleasant surprise!" He grinned.

Terri merely stared at him, blinking back tears of sheer relief. She could feel the anxiety and tension that had built up in her body finally leave her.

"Terri, are you okay? Did you have a fight with Jack and Janet or something?" Larry asked her, his smile slowly fading into a look of concern.

Wordlessly, Terri launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around him in a huge hug. Larry gasped, startled at first, before returning her embrace instinctively. He started rubbing her back in small, soothing circles.

"Terri..." Larry pleaded. He wasn't used to seeing the normally poised nurse so upset. "Terri, what's the matter? Is it Jack or Janet?"

Terri shook her head no, unable to speak at the moment. She still felt a little sick.

"Did someone try to hurt you, or...?" Larry asked her, an edge coming to his tone.

Once again, Terri shook her head.

"I'll bet I know what it is...you locked yourself outside of the apartment, didn't you?" Larry teased jokingly.

That prompted a watery sounding laugh from Terri, who still had her face buried into Larry's shoulder. Larry felt a little bit better about things at the sound.

"Well, don't worry..." Larry comforted her. "Whatever it is, we'll fix it together, okay?"

The two of them just stood there holding one another for a few moments. When Terri felt like she had gained some sort of control over her emotions, she raised her head and pulled back so she could look at Larry face to face.

"Can we go inside your apartment? I need to talk to you about something very important." Terri asked him seriously.

"What's the magic word?" Larry teased her gently.

"Now." Terri deadpanned.

Chuckling at Terri's seriousness, Larry stepped aside and ushed her into his apartment. He closed the door behind them and just looked at her, not quite believing what he was seeing. Terri Alden in his apartment at two in the morning? He wondered if he was dreaming. He was beyond delighted.

Terri, on the other hand, was feeling very nervous. She'd lost her voice. She didn't know where to begin putting what she'd just experienced into words without freaking Larry out. Trying to distract herself, she focused on what looked like a bookshelf clear across the room. She slowly walked over to it while Larry looked after her curiously. As she got closer, she realized it was a record collection. Absent mindedly, she pulled one of the items out in order to look at it. She was surprised by the genre when she did so.

"Classical music." Terri said softly. "You know, I play the violin a little bit."

"I know, I've heard you practice." Larry pretended to shudder in horror, triggering a smile from Terri. Terri put the record back and walked over to the sofa where Larry had sat down, still thinking about what she wanted to say.

"So nice of you to join me." Larry smiled, eyes sparkling with mirth. "So tell me, Terri, what brings you up here at this hour?"

"You're going to think I'm crazy..." Terri trailed off, feeling no less hesitant to speak than before. She felt so stupid.

"Just tell me." Larry reassured her gently, still grinning from ear to ear. He loved seeing her all flustered...he thought it was so cute.

"Okay, well..." Terri looked down at her lap as she began. "I had this dream about you tonight."

Larry's eyes lit up at that statement. His smile got even bigger.

"Oh really?" He asked her, amused and fascinated.

"Yeah, it was awful. More of a nightmare, really." Terri uneasily tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I had this dream that you were shot and killed by someone."

Terri willed herself to look up at Larry, finally making eye contact with him. The smile slowly disappeared from Larry's face as he grapsed what she had just said.

"Terri...that's...that's kind of creepy." Larry laughed nervously. "Well, more like horrifying. But hey, at least it was just a dream. I mean, it's not like your dreams are premonitions or anything like that, right? We all dream weird things once in a while. You should hear about some of mine sometime."

"But that's just the thing, Larry..." Terri sighed. "Remember that time you were messing around with the fiancee of that guy, and then he came up to the farm looking for you? It was that weekend that we went to stay at that farm belonging to Cindy's Aunt Becky."

"Oh, yeah! That was the weekend that Mr Furley got lucky!" Larry smiled, laughing at the memory. "And then Janet dumped oats on me."

"What about the time you sold that lemon to that guy with that giant brother? Remember how they wanted you to pay them back for the car? Remember how massive he was...how he followed you to the apartment, demanding his money back? If Janet and I hadn't have been there to shoo him away...who knows what could have happened to you?" Terri asked him.

"And I thank you from the bottom of my heart, truly." Larry smiled at her, still in a lighthearted mood. "And I will do _anything _to show you my appreciation."

Terri sighed. How could she get through to him?

"Don't you get it? I can't tell you how to live your life, but I am begging you...please, _please _be more careful. I would hate to see your lifestyle catch up with you one of these days." Terri insisted.

"Terri, are you trying to tell me that you care about me?" Larry asked her, shocked and flattered at the same time.

Terri paused, thinking about how to answer his question without sounding too sappy.

"I'm trying to say that, if anything happens to you...I'll kill you." Terri smiled wearily.

Larry looked at her in shock. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He put a hand to his heart and bit his bottom lip in an overly dramatic fashion, causing Terri to smirk at him knowingly.

"Terri, that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me!" Larry sighed, wiping away an invisible mock tear with his hand.

The two friends cracked up. Terri had felt more at ease now than she had since she had that awful dream, and she was grateful for it. She secretly loved how Larry could make her laugh in almost any situation.

"But seriously..." Larry took both of her hands in his, causing Terri to look at him quizzically. "I'm the kind of guy who tries to look on the bright side of things, you know what I mean?"

Terri nodded.

"Back when I was a teenager, I was so wild, so out of control that most people thought I'd be dead by the time I was 30. Heck, even I thought so. I didn't care. But here I am, six years past my expiration date. I'd say I've done pretty well for myself, wouldn't you? I've beaten the odds." Larry grinned at her.

Terri's face fell when he said that. Despite Larry's lighthearted demeanor when saying all of this, what he had just said didn't make her feel any better. He was talking as if making it not even halfway through his life was some sort of miracle. Terri pondered why he didn't think he had long to live, and she wondered if maybe that was the reason he took all of these risks...that he just didn't care. It made her feel sad and concerned. She just knew that Larry wasn't kidding or exaggerating here. She had a sneaking suspicion that Larry wasn't quite as happy as he let on, and what he had just said did nothing to calm her fears.

Catching the look on Terri's face, Larry realized that he said too much. He stood up quickly, stretching as he did so.

"I'm thinking of turning in for the night. Are you coming?" He raised an eyebrow at her suggestively, a sly smile on his face.

Terri snorted, rolling her eyes.

"I'm just kidding...sort of." Larry smiled impishly at her. "I'll tell you what...I'll take the couch and you can have my bed."

"Actually, Larry, I think I'd like to go to sleep in my own bed. But thanks, anyway." Terri smiled at him.

"Well, at least let me walk you downstairs, seeing as you were nice enough to come check up on me and all." Larry reached down and took Terri's hands, helping her up to her feet.

"I think I'd like that." Terri agreed with him. Together, they left his apartment and started down the stairs to the second floor. There was a peaceful and easy silence between the two. When they made it to door 201, Terri paused and then made a bashful confession to Larry.

"You know, I was thinking of blaming this whole thing on sleepwalking..." Terri admitted to Larry sheepishly. "I had never done anything like this before."

"You can feel free to sleepwalk up to my place anytime you want." Larry laughed.

"Larry, please remember what I said..." Terri told him, a hint of seriousness in her tone. "Please be more careful...if not for yourself, then do it for Jack, Janet and I because we all care about you very much and would hate to see anything bad happen to you."

"Yes, Mom." Larry smirked, rolling his eyes.

"I'm serious!" Terri asserted.

"Okay, Terri." Larry smiled softly at her. "I promise."

Terri carefully turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door so as not to make a sound so that she wouldn't wake her roommates. She felt like she wanted to say something else to Larry, but couldn't quite figure out how to put it into words, so her body did the talking for her. On impulse, she turned around and gave Larry a quick yet affectionate kiss on the cheek.

"I'm really happy you're alive, Larry." Terri joked. As lame as it sounded it was the truth. She giggled lightly at Larry's stunned expression.

"I am too...especially _now_!" Larry exclaimed, gently touching his face where she kissed him.

"Goodnight, Larry." Terri smiled sweetly at him.

"Goodnight, Terri. Sweet dreams." Larry grinned at her, slightly dazed.

Terri slipped back inside of the apartment and closed the door. She leaned heavily against the door, just basking in the calm, soothing feelings she had washing over her. The apartment was dark and quiet which she had found unnerving and frightening just an hour ago. Now, she found it relaxing.

Finally feeling calm and tranquil, she headed off to bed.

THE END


End file.
